Dietary and Physical Activity Patterns in French Children Are Related to Overweight and Socioeconomic Status

Abstract

Sedentary behavior (SED) has already been identified as a risk factor of childhood overweight (OW) but less is known about the dietary patterns related to adiposity. Our objective was to investigate if lifestyle patterns combining overall diet and physical activity were associated with childhood OW and if they were involved in the reverse association between socioeconomic status (SES) and OW. Dietary intake was assessed using a 7-d food record in 748 French children aged 3-11 y from the 1998-1999 cross-sectional French Enquête Individuelle et Nationale sur les Consommations Alimentaires national food consumption survey. Weight and height, leisure time physical activity, SED (television viewing), and SES were reported by parents or children by answering questionnaires. Scores for lifestyle patterns were assessed with factor analysis and their relationship with OW was explored by logistic regression analysis. Two similar lifestyle patterns were identified in children aged 3-6 y and 7-11 y: "snacking and sedentary" and "varied food and physically active." The snacking and sedentary pattern was positively associated with OW in the youngest children (P-trend = 0.0161) and partly mediated the negative association of SES to OW. The varied food and physically active pattern was inversely correlated with OW in the eldest children only (P-trend = 0.0401). A third pattern called "big eaters at main meals" was derived in children aged 7-11 y and was positively correlated with OW (P-trend = 0.0165). From a public health perspective, the combinations of identifiable dietary and physical activity behaviors may be useful as a basis for recommendations on preventing OW.

A traditional dietary pattern is associated with lower odds of overweight and obesity among preschool children in Lebanon: a cross-sectional study

“…Similarly, the traditional Lebanese pattern, which builds on higher intakes of breads and cereals, dairy products, fruits and vegetables and traditional Lebanese mixed dishes, is similar to the Traditional pattern reported in previous studies conducted amongst adolescents and adults in the country [38][39][40]. In agreement with our findings, Lioret et al and Manios et al have also identified two dietary patterns amongst French and Greek preschoolers, respectively, with the identified patterns being similar to those derived in the present study, even though the specific foods belonging to each pattern may vary in their respective level of contribution [18,19]. Other studies have, however, characterized more than two patterns amongst preschoolers.…”

“…In this context, dietary pattern analysis was proposed as a holistic approach that investigates the joint effects of multiple dietary components on obesity risk [16,17]. Few studies have examined dietary patterns amongst preschoolers and their association with the risk of overweight or obesity [18][19][20][21][22]. A dietary pattern rich in French fries and sweetened beverages and low in dairy products and water was found to be associated with increased risk of overweight and obesity amongst 3-6-year-old French children [18].…”

Leisure-time physical activity and sedentary behavior clusters and their associations with overweight in middle-aged French adults

“…50 Our study is also one of few among adults that have analyzed the co-occurrence of physical activity and sedentary behaviors 22 compared with a number of studies conducted in adolescents. [23][24][25][26]51,52 Despite variations in specific types of physical activity performed by men and Physical activity clusters and overweight H Charreire et al women, a cluster named 'multiple activity/low TV' was observed in both sexes. However the cluster including 'walking and gardening only' (cluster 1) was associated with a low level of sedentary occupation in men (low TV) and a high level of sedentary occupation in women (high TV).…”

Padrões alimentares de adolescentes obesos e diferentes repercussões metabólicas

“…Corroborando esses achados, estudos europeus e americanos apontam que o consumo do açúcar de adição vem crescendo, variando de 14 a 29%, e sendo inversamente associado ao consumo de gorduras, vitaminas e minerais 28 . Padrão alimentar com composição similar foi encontrado em estudos com adolescentes mexicanas 29 , crianças coreanas 25 e francesas 30 .…”